


The Moment We Come Alive

by Dracowolf



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-19
Updated: 2013-09-19
Packaged: 2017-12-27 00:12:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/971957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracowolf/pseuds/Dracowolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The morning, well day, after with Natasha and Bruce. The others have some questions that both Natasha and Bruce would rather not answer, then again Bruce has some questions too. It's safe to assume everyone has some questions. Random moments, random fluff and then memories of how they got this far in the first place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Moment We Come Alive

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the result of the simple request of "awkward domestic Bruce and Tash" expanded into "morning after awkwardly domestic" the word "breakfast" was also used as was the request for the others to congratulate them on the sex. The request came from of course a friend.
> 
> I complied, for the most part as I do enjoy writing stories for friends. I think about half way through I started to write a different story altogether though. It's what happens when I try to fill a request while listening to "The Moment We Come Alive" by Red about 40 times while writing (Yes that is where the title for the story came from, same with the last line). 
> 
> Anyways, this story is in fact dedicated to the only person insane enough to request this, read it and still be willing to RP with me after. They also happen to be a fairly *coughverycough* awesome friend, and fairly awesome RPer for that matter, who puts up with a lot of my insanity, and I do mean a lot.

* * *

 

Odd part number one, he didn’t wake up with a groan as he usually did, in fact he was fully rested. Number two he didn’t wake up in a cold sweat which was also not normal. Three he was rather certain there was a warm body beside him. Alright, fully rested, not groaning, not sweating, and someone beside him? He’s fairly sure it’s a woman but he isn’t actually sure since he hasn’t looked over to check and other ways of checking without looking are out of the question. He’s a gentleman after all. He really hopes it’s a woman though. What did he do last night again? It’s all some sort of fuzzy happiness right now but it’s starting to fill in as his body finishes waking up.

Did he have sex? No, he couldn’t have. He can’t have sex! Well his lack of clothes currently begs to differ as does the body beside him and his slowly filling memory. Still how did he pull that off? This didn’t make sense to him. He rolled over in bed as if maybe laying on his side would give the answer and then he came face to face with Natasha. Okay both awake, eyes locked and no one saying anything. At least this might explain how he had sex. Sounds like the beginning to a joke though; a genius scientist with anger management issues and a Russian spy crawl into bed together. The scientist can’t get angry and is a nervous wreck generally who fears he’ll lost control during sex. The Russian spy does all the work and the two wake up in silence unsure what to think. He had to admit though, it was good. After all he feels like this so it had to have been.

It was still silent in the room and he was very, very aware of that. How long does it take for a silence to become awkward? Four seconds. He’s fairly sure they had been staring at each other in silence for more than four seconds. Actually he was fairly sure it was coming closer to a minute as they each were putting this all together. This was going to throw him off all day.

 

* * *

 

“So, breakfast?” Natasha had been the one to break the silence.

“Yes, please,” Bruce nodded, anything to get the awkwardness done with though it had been more than clear in his voice.

“We both know you’re cooking it,” There was the light smile on her lips at that.

Despite Bruce’s confusion though he wasn’t falling for that, well at least not yet, “You’re the one who suggested it. I do believe that means it’s your job.”

“Really?” Natasha rolled onto her back, making sure to lose her share of the covers as she did so. Once on her back she stretched, “You’re gonna make me leave this warm bed? Not very hospitable of you since it is yours.”

Bruce couldn’t help but let his eyes slowly rove over her body. He knew what she was up to he had been warned of this at least he thinks he had. Still he should know. But he had to admit she was good at it to the point where he couldn’t help but lick his lips for a brief second before regaining himself to respond, “You seem to be implying that you’d like breakfast in bed.”

“That would be nice.” There was that quick, light smile again at which Bruce was about to ask what he got out of it however as his luck would have it Natasha was well ahead of him on that. Natasha had rolled back over onto her side, her hand on his arm before he received a far too short kiss.

“Alright,” There was just a quick perhaps too eager nod from Bruce, “what do you want?”

“Anything you can think of. Surprise me.”

Bruce sat up and couldn’t help but smirk, “See you say that and I’m going to go and make something like toast because you wouldn’t expect it.”

“True but you have spoiled your almost flawless plan by informing me of it and thus I expect it,” Natasha just smirked with the slightest shrug, “so not much of a surprise.”

“I see you have cleverly gotten my plan out of me. Is this how you usually get the information on plans you need?” Bruce got out of bed grabbing his pants from the night before for now. As fun as it sounds he doesn’t want to cook naked, at least right now. He has to admit chocolate fondue naked does sound pretty good in his head.

“Yes, I in fact get every secret plan I need through breakfast in bed. I ask someone to surprise me and they ask if I would be expecting their nuclear warheads to be transported across the country via train,” Natasha was now half tempted to take over Bruce’s side of the bed. It was a large bed but conquering it all seemed like a good idea. Maybe that was just her Russian side talking. Can conquering things be genetic?

Bruce lingered in the room for a moment longer trying to hide a smile from Natasha’s comment. He only left because he had an idea of what he intended to cook or at least a vague one. He started to gather the materials from his kitchen.

Bruce was gone for just over a minute when Natasha started to hear the knife hit the cutting board rapidly yet each hit was rather light and experienced. Part of her couldn’t help but wonder if Bruce was good with a knife in the kitchen how hard could it be to teach him to use a knife to defend himself. She shook her head to clear the thought; this wasn’t the time to be thinking of such things. Soon enough the cutting stopped and the sound of a whisk hitting the sides of a bowl at a rapid pace could be heard.

Natasha reached over to the bedside table where she had left her phone. She had made it clear that she had every intention of taking at the very least the morning off, though she had hoped for the day. Fury had been his usual self about it, pointing out that their enemies would not take a day off however he agreed to only call her in if she was needed and that she’d have at least morning off and he begrudgingly agreed to try to keep it to the fully day. Fury didn’t have a choice in the morning part; Natasha had informed him of her phone being off and that she would ‘dispose’ of anyone who woke her up. Doing so thus far meant she was getting breakfast in bed and had gotten more rest than she normally would have. Still she turned her phone back on as she had promised just in case.

The phone booted up to show one text message had been sent to her and she was reluctant to check it. Still Fury tended to prefer to yell rather than text so likely it wasn’t him. She sighed hoping it wasn’t someone telling her that she had somewhere to be when she got the message. Relief washed over her as she saw it from Clint. He knew better than to mess with her day off.

[Received: Clint]: _How was the sex?_

[Sent: Clint]: _How is it that the first question you ask me in the morning is about my sex life?_

[Received: Clint]: _Because you just had sex with the one man everyone was convinced couldn’t have sex. Even he was convinced he couldn’t have sex! So spill, how was it? Did he go green on you?_

[Sent: Clint]: _Agent Barton you are like a teenage girl hoping to get all of the details on the latest boy at a high school from the girls in a washroom._

[Received: Clint]: _If I go to a woman’s washroom with you, will you tell me?_

[Sent: Clint]: _That is one of the most disturbing things you have ever said to me._

[Received: Clint]: _Just tell me. Everyone wants to know._

[Sent: Clint]: _I’m not going to tell you and if you ambush Bruce to ask him I will dislocate your arms._

[Received: Clint]: _Can you at least say if he was better than me? Or larger?_

[Sent: Clint]: _You know I’m sure Bruce would be willing to trace your cellphone for me so I can come and hurt you._

[Received: Clint]: _Give me this one thing!_

[Sent: Clint]: _If I tell you, you’re going to crawl into the vents and never come out as you weep silently in the darkness._

[Received: Clint]: _Oh god he is._

[Sent: Clint]: _I never said anything of the sort. Now never ask me about my sex life again or I will end yours._

[Received: Clint]: _I’d like to see you try. Ain’t nothing that can keep women from this body._

[Sent: Clint]: _I can think of a few things that can. Do you really want me to talk to the women you try to flirt with?_

[Received: Clint]: _Point taken. I will leave your sex life alone. I give you no promise on the others._

[Sent: Clint]: _I’m sure I can handle them._

With that Natasha closed her phone. By now she could smell something actually cooking causing her mouth to water. She couldn’t help but get up; tossing the clothes she had taken with her the night before on her way out if only not to make this more awkward for Bruce.

She entered into the kitchen where Bruce was working over the stove, still shirtless, with something frying in the skillet. By the smell and looks of it she was assuming it was some form of French toast. She walked up behind Bruce wrapping her arms around his waist moved herself closer to him.

“I thought we agreed to breakfast in bed?” Bruce joked lightly but didn’t pull away. He stayed completely relaxed which was different from when the two had first met or even entertained the thought of being this close. Bruce normally would remove himself for human contact; to be honest he could barely look Natasha in eye back when they first met.

“We did but it seems the others are planning to ambush us with questions on last night,” Natasha started off gently pressing a kiss to his shoulder when she felt him tense up at the idea of everyone asking him about what had happened. He relaxed again at the touch and her voice, “Stay calm, you know how they are. I just thought I’d give you a warning before they started.”

“I really don’t want to go up to the lab today but I need to check on some experiments. Still that would mean having to deal with Tony and his questions,” Bruce replied flipping the French toast in the skillet.

“If you can deal with him on a normal day I think you can deal with him today,” Bruce swore he could hear the smirk in Natasha’s voice. “Besides if he does get too much just let me know. I’ll either scare him until he flinches at the word ‘sex’ or we’ll go do something.”

“Let’s go the route that doesn’t involving breaking Tony,” Bruce chuckled at the idea as he removed the French toast from the skillet and started to garnish them. Maple syrup, powdered sugar, shaved chocolate and strawberry halves.

“Probably a good idea, I already broke Clint today,” Natasha let go of Bruce and stepped back to give him room to finish with the breakfast.

Once he had finished he offered the plate to Natasha, “It’s not in bed but it is breakfast. Last I checked most people considered a 50% a pass.”

“I was the one who chose to leave the bed, thus you still get the 100%. Besides you did surprise me, given our talk on toast I was not expecting you just to add French, let alone everything else you seemed to have added,” Natasha grinned examining the plate she had been handed.

“I figured after last night, Banana Chocolate French Toast with Hazelnut Chocolate and Strawberries would be just about good right now. After all you did the, well, let’s say work and took a very large risk,” Bruce stared down at his feet as he spoke that bit. He mentally kicked himself for letting her take such a risk with him.

Natasha set the plate down on the counter and entered Bruce’s personal space. One of her hands on his arm while the other was under his chin coaxing him gently to look her in the eyes. “Hey, none of that. It was my choice; I knew I was safe with you. You don’t get to be down on yourself after that. We’re fine and last night does not get to be called work in the slightest. Don’t you dare start on this idea that it’s not safe again. Got it?”

Bruce didn’t pull away or fight against Natasha’s hand. He held eye contact with her for a moment before leaning in and very lightly kissing her. It was almost non-existent with how gentle it was though the most off thing about it was that Bruce had initiated it. He had always been reserved when it came to their, for lack of a better term, relationship. It had always seemed like he was afraid that if he let himself enjoy it too much or if he started any contact between the two of them the entire thing would fall apart around him. He was terrified of messing this all up for them by making the slightest wrong move.

Natasha had been the one to start just about everything when it came to the two of them. Bruce’s feelings had been easy to read, about as easy as it was to read a puppy. He was eager-to-please and always changed how he held himself when Natasha would enter a room. He’d sit up straight at first but then settle into a more relaxed state rather quickly. She had never missed the slight glances from him or the way he’d look down at his feet after like he was ashamed for looking. It had taken a long time before Natasha had decided to make a move, always concerned that she would make Bruce uncomfortable.

It was nice to finally see him come out of his shell even if it was only slightly, it was still progress. Natasha had to be the one to deepen the kiss to make sure it really did exist and Bruce had complied as she took control. All of his life he had to keep control of everything, always keep his emotions in check but to finally be able to give up control, even just for a moment, was like having a weight lifted off of his shoulders.

Bruce was the one who pulled away, not that he fully wanted to. She could feel his hesitation as he did so causing her to want to stop him. “Your breakfast is going to get cold and I still have work.” Always the rational and realistic one even as Natasha frowned and wanted to pull him back.

“Take the day off, I’m sure Tony would understand and check on your experiments for you. After all we had an experiment right here and I’m sure you’d like to know if the results are the same the second time around. I know I do.”

“You’re trying to seduce me with experiments?” Bruce raised an eyebrow. “I think that’s cheating.”

“What can I say? I’m really attracted to you and according to Newton’s law of gravitation, you’re attracted to me too,” There was that smirk again, she’d been planning this. “What are you working on today anyways?”

“Some biochemistry stuff with my blood,” Bruce responded trying to ignore the Newton comment, though to be honest it was right.

“I hear chemists do it on the table periodically. Okay that one was bad, I admit,” Bruce figured there had to be something else up.

“Okay where’d you get the lines?”

“I was on a mission at this science convention thing a few years back. A lot of male scientists who weren’t used to seeing a woman like me not hanging off the arm of some billionaire. A few of them wanted to try their luck but sadly despite all of my attempts some of the things they said to me that day will never leave me,” Natasha shook her head, “bright side now I can put that dark time to good use.”

“How many of them did you try to hurt?” Bruce was slightly concerned for the state of his fellow scientists.

“I wanted to hurt most of them, however when I ‘try’ to hurt someone it isn’t really much of a try. I hurt them and for that there was only one other than my target,” Natasha replied, “even then it was just a quick arm twist and some graphic threats. Nothing a year of therapy wouldn’t deal with. Now are we going to experiment, Doctor?”

Bruce was tempted, very tempted. The idea to just spend the entire day here with her was almost too good to pass up. However he wanted to check the results, they could change everything for him and everyone else after all if they came out positive. He leaned forward to whisper in Natasha’s ear, “You are very, very tempting Agent Romanov. There is nothing more I’d like to do that convert our potential energy to kinetic energy but I still have work that needs to be done. I’ll finish as fast as I can. You enjoy your time off and your breakfast.”

Natasha frowned for a brief moment at Bruce still deciding to leave. Giving a quick kiss to Bruce’s cheek she whispered back, “It was worth a try. If Tony becomes too much of a pain, you know where to reach me.”

“I promise I will,” Bruce gave a warm, sincere smile. “But I very much doubt there’s a level that Tony can reach that I can’t handle.”

Bruce moved past Natasha towards the bedroom to get dressed. As much as he was sure Tony wouldn’t mind, Bruce wasn’t about to walk into the lab with the obvious ‘I had sex last night’ look. His hair was a mess, still shirtless and sockless for that matter and wearing the pants from the day before. He took a quick shower before getting ready as fast as he could. Heading back out towards the elevator he passed by Natasha who had sat down to enjoy the French toast.

Natasha looked over at Bruce as he passed, “Stay calm.”

Bruce looked over his shoulder as the elevator arrived, “Stay safe.” It had become their usual sayings to each other, often their farewell when they parted ways though they had other uses for it. It didn’t matter what they were going off to do, Bruce would always tell Natasha to stay safe. Natasha would always tell Bruce to stay calm and in some ways, he was fairly sure it helped him a lot. Whenever he was nearing the edge of losing control completely, somewhere in the back of his mind he could hear her voice telling him to stay calm.

For Natasha it always gave her a reason to come back from whatever mission she had been sent on, to keep herself in one piece so she wouldn’t have to see the look of panic on Bruce’s face. During one mission she had ended up in SHIELD medical. Bruce had come to visit and he looked completely destroyed. He had taken charge demanding that the SHIELD doctors show him the charts and tell him everything. Natasha had tried to get up to stop him, knowing a slight touch could get him to calm down and ground him in reality if it was her. She wasn’t able to get up due to the injuries though it didn’t stop her from trying. The slightest yell of pain from her had gotten Bruce’s attention though. He was at her side like the loyal, far too eager, puppy-like man he was. Despite wanting to yell at him about leaving the doctors alone and letting them do their job she couldn’t help but just smile slightly that he was there. Slightly happy that he was concerned for her this much. Still she did her best to avoid putting Bruce and the SHIELD medical doctors in the same path now. She could still hear him apologizing for his anger in the back of her mind and the not so subtle threats he now and then made.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

Bruce arrived in the lab, doing his usual look at the ground as he walked. The smell was the first thing that hit him. Overly sweet and something like walking into a large flower shop. He finally looked up to see the entire lab covered in flowers. He raised his eyebrow at the sight; this certainly was not done by Natasha. If she was going to do anything this, for lack of a better term, cheesy then she would go with a simple box of chocolate. First off it was easy to share and second off he liked chocolate a lot and Natasha had good taste in chocolate. Something about going undercover to parties all over the world meant she had a lot of experience with both good and bad chocolate.

“What on earth?” Bruce muttered as he moved deeper into the lab. The flowers were everywhere, it didn’t seem like he could find a sing spot that didn’t have them. Even his once empty beakers had flowers in them. He saw a note on one of the flower bouquets on his main work bench. He was hesitant to read the note though he grabbed it anyways.

**_Congrats on the sex!_ **

**_-Love, Tony_ **

Bruce frowned as he looked around; okay, his gut was right this was Tony. Of course it wasn’t hard to guess, no one else was this insane. He shook his head decided that he would get Tony to clean it up when he saw him. He started to move the flowers out his way so he could get to the experiments he wanted to check, pulling his glasses out of his pocket and putting them on as he focused on his work. Half an hour or so had passed when Tony walked into the lab with his usual grin.

“There he is!” Tony yelled, far, far too happy and proud of what he did. “So how was your oh so wonderful night?”

“Well according to you it was wonderful,” Bruce pointed out trying really hard not to grab the nearest bouquet of flowers and toss it at Tony’s head.

“Well without my words, how was it?” Tony was now beside Bruce leaning on the work bench Bruce was at.

“You know there’s a saying that a gentleman does not kiss and tell,” Bruce pointed out removing his glasses to clean them for a moment and fiddle nervously with the arms.

“We are hardly gentlemen here, Bruce. We may be at parties and social gatherings at least you might be I’m just a fun guy wherever I go. However in this tower there are no secrets, we know you had sex and we want to hear about it,” Tony leaned forward.

“Who’s we?” Bruce finally turned slightly to look at Tony.

“Everyone of any importance,” Tony responded, “but there are a lot and they all want to know. How was finally having sex again and not only that but with a super spy who happens to be very, very hot?”

“That information is on a need to know basis and you are not need to know nor are your people of importance. Only people who need to know are Natasha and myself. Now then, clean up your mess,” Bruce motioned to the flowers that still covered his lab.

“What? The flowers are nice, they brighten up the place and really you deserve them,” Tony just had his usual grin.

“No.” Bruce shook his head, “This seems to be the worst idea.”

“Oh come on, right now you are the only one apart from Clint who has had sex with Natasha in this tower. Now Clint won’t talk about it because Natasha could potentially break him but from what I’ve seen she won’t touch you. So come on dirty details, everything,” Tony leaned in closer. “Come on. For me?” He gave his best pout and puppy eyes.

“Under no circumstance am I telling you anything,” Bruce replied as he put his glasses back on and tried to return to his work, hoping that ignoring Tony would make him stop.

“Come on Bruce we’re like brother in here, you can tell your brother anything and everything! For our brotherly relationship to work we must share what we know and compare notes,” Tony tried moving to Bruce’s other side to get his attention.

“Then I am letting our brotherly relationship fail because I’m not telling you anything,” Bruce didn’t even glance at Tony, only at his work.

“At least tell me if she’s into anything _interesting_ ,” Tony continued to try to get into Bruce’s line of sight. “She has to have some sort of kink, or kinks. Knowing you, you probably went along with some of them if not all.”

“Tony!” Bruce looked at him finally. “You have to be kidding me.”

“I joke about many things Bruce, your sex life is not one of them,” Tony nodded once.

“What makes you think I went along with anything?” Bruce grumbled.

“Because you’re whipped,” Tony answered, “that is a simple fact.”

“All things considered I’m a lot less whipped that you,” Bruce raised an eyebrow.

“We can debate about who is more whipped later just tell me everything, in the name of science,” Tony moved closer to Bruce.

Bruce just pushed up on his glasses with one hand, rubbing his eyes in frustration. “Fine we had sex, you know that. That’s all you need to know. I didn’t lose control so she’s not dead. End of story.”

“Alright but how did you pull it off without the other guy showing up?” Tony questioned.

“I don’t even know how that worked.” He really wasn’t completely sure, he had some ideas but he didn’t want to analyze it more with Tony around.

“Okay, well then one more question. When does the rest of the group get invited?” Tony looked dead serious despite the question.

“Did… Did you just ask me when we’re having a group orgy?” Bruce raised an eyebrow looking at Tony, half horrified by the idea.

“Yes. When is it happening?” Tony moved an inch closer to Bruce easily in his personal space.

Bruce had his cellphone out instantly typing in a text and hitting send since there was no way he could speak.

[Sent: Natasha]: _help_

It had taken only a few seconds to get a reply.

[Received: Natasha]: _On my way._

Tony frowned, “Oh come on. Just because I’m asking doesn’t mean I want to see it happen this week. I’m just saying it should happen. It’d be a team bonding activity.”

“No.”

“You’re rather quick to shut down my idea,” Tony stated, “I don’t think you’ve given it a fair chance.”

“Still no.”

“Okay what if we work up to it and test various degrees. We’ll try three, and if that works later we’ll go up to four. Eventually we’d work up to everyone and it’d be great.”

“Tony,” Natasha’s voice came from the elevator as she walked in giving a confused glance at the flowers as she passed. She soon was standing beside Bruce and looking at Tony. She was in her workout clothes though it didn’t seem that she was tired at all from that.

“Ah, Natasha just in time. Please explain to Bruce that-“ Tony was cut off by Natasha.

“First off whatever you’re about to say the answer is no,” Bruce felt Natasha grab his arm, her grip was strong yet she was careful to never hurt him and he knew if he wanted to pull away he could and she would let him. He didn’t though as he let her pull him closer to her, “second off, mine.” With that Bruce was pulled towards the elevator and he gratefully followed. “Also clean up the lab.”

 

* * *

 

Natasha had finished off the breakfast Bruce had made her; one of the perks of being with the man was that he could cook. It kept him relaxed and he knew a lot as well as he was a fast learner. He had picked up early on in finding out what Natasha liked and didn’t like. She had come back from stressful missions on more than one occasion to find Bruce had cooked her something; it seemed to make everything seem better for a little while.

She had cleaned up what was left so that Bruce wouldn’t have to deal with it later and walked around the rooms once. After a quick shower she had gotten dressed with the clothes she kept stored in Bruce’s room but hadn’t dug out earlier. She found herself oddly bored afterwards. She enjoyed her time to relax, that was true. It wouldn’t be too hard to find a book to read on Bruce’s floor, he tended to have a lot considering the walls of the main living space were covered in bookshelves. She could also easily find something to watch if she wanted but still just sitting there made her feel a bit anxious. Maybe it was the night before causing her blood to pump and adrenaline to rush, she really wasn’t sure. All she knew was that she couldn’t sit still but had no intention on asking Fury for something to do or letting SHIELD know that she even felt like this to begin with, she’d never get a day off again if she did that.

She checked her phone once and saw no new messages. Finally she decided to just hit the workout room to burn off the anxious energy that had built up inside of her. She did a quick stop at her own room to get some workout clothes before heading down to the floor Tony had dedicated to workouts and training. She stepped inside not surprised to see Steve at a punching bag pounding away as he often did.

“Morning Captain,” Natasha greeted respectfully heading for a treadmill, just wanting to run for a bit since she couldn’t sit still. She stopped nearby it when Steve spoke up.

“Hey Natasha,” Steve stopped punching the bag. It seemed he’d been at it for a while. His breathing slightly above normal, his face red and a thin layer of sweat covering his arms and forehead. “I heard you had an eventful night.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Natasha just offered a slight smile though was really hoping that this wouldn’t go the obvious way, not with Steve.

“You and Dr. Banner, huh?” Steve raised an eyebrow, “That seems dangerous.”

“I get that a lot,” Natasha shrugged hoping he’d drop the subject now and just go back to punching.

“You two are playing it, well, safe right?” Steve questioned.

“Steve, Bruce wouldn’t hurt me,” Natasha rolled her eyes, “I know him well enough to know that much. If he couldn’t handle it then I wouldn’t have let it go that far. In fact he wouldn’t have done it if he couldn’t handle it. I trust him.”

“Well that’s good but that’s not what I meant,” Steve replied as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “I simply meant well, are you two being _safe_ when you do _it._ ”

Natasha raised an eyebrow in response crossing her arms over her chest, “Capt, I like you but just like I’ll tell the others the sex life of Bruce Banner and myself is ours. It doesn’t need to be discussed with everyone.”

“I know, I know and I’m happy for you two really I am,” Steve held up his hands defensively, “it’s amazing you two have made it this far and that Bruce has more self-control than anyone thought possible.”

“I thought it was possible everyone else just needs to give him more credit,” Natasha pointed out still not liking where this was going.

“But,” there was that famous but, “given the circumstances that the two of you have it’s easy to forget that you still need to be safe. So I just want to make sure that you’re being safe with your… adventures.”

“Steve do we really have to do this? I mean, do I really need to tell you if we had safe sex?”

“I’m just saying. Back in my day we didn’t worry too much about this stuff because usually most people were married before they... fondued. However safety was still important back then. Things might have changed over time but needing protection isn’t one of them.”

“If I tell you that we were safe, will you just drop it?” Natasha asked wanting more than anything for this to be over. Why did Steve have to be down here?

“Only if it’s the truth,” by that he meant only if he believed it was the truth. Natasha had an odd feeling that no matter what she said, Steve wasn’t going to believe her and he was going to start the lecture. Nothing like getting lectured by Captain America on remembering to use a condom.

Thankfully her phone went off with a quick beep from a text being received. She was more than happy to hold up a hand to tell Steve to hold that thought as she checked the message. He knew that it could be something from SHIELD so just waited to see what was up.

[Received: Bruce]: _help_

Natasha for a brief moment thought it was odd to have Bruce text instead of call. Probably Tony had said something stupid which might have stunned Bruce into silence. She quickly gave a reply, more than happy to get out of here.

[Sent: Bruce]: _On my way._

“I’m sorry Steve, I need to excuse myself for the moment. Seems a problem has come up that I have to deal with. Don’t worry we’re completely safe and but I need to go,” with a quick respectful nod she made her way to the elevator and went down to the labs before Steve could ask anything.

The doors opened and the smell of flowers hit her like a brick. She was used to the chemical smells of the lab as well as the clean white and black surfaces. Instead she was greeted by flowers. She could make out Tony’s voice and spotted him and Bruce quickly. Bruce looked slightly uncomfortable and while Tony seemed to be his smug usual self.

“Tony,” Natasha called out trying to make sure he knew she was serious without being harsh. She walked over standing beside Bruce but staring at Tony.

“Ah, Natasha just in time. Explain to Bruce that-“ She cut him off not wanting to even know what they were talking about. Bruce wanted out, she’d get him out.

“First off whatever you’re about to say the answer is no,” Natasha grabbed Bruce’s arm to pull him into her space and to lead him where she wanted. He didn’t fight it, he rarely did. It had been that way for some time now. She’d pull him close and he would just follow. She had always been careful of her strength, always making sure that if Bruce didn’t want to follow he could pull away, gentle enough so that he wouldn’t get hurt. Still her grip was strong enough to always keep him focused and know that she was there, to not let him drift in his own mind or ever think he was alone. She kept her eyes locked on Tony as she continued, “second off, mine.” It was a simple fact; you didn’t mess with what was Natasha’s not unless you wanted to feel a lot of pain or had a death wish. Right now until he decided differently Bruce was hers and she would make that known to the others if she had to. They wanted to push his buttons too much or say something against him because of a bad day then they could go through her.

She pulled Bruce to the elevator ever so slightly, she didn’t have to try hard he’d follow and she knew it. After all he wanted out, that’s why he had texted her to come down here. At the elevator she looked around at the flowers again and called out to Tony, “Also clean up the lab.”

 

* * *

 

Natasha’s hand slid down Bruce’s arm to meet his hand once they were outside the tower. “I’ll take your request for help meant Tony was worse than you expected?”

“You saw the flowers,” Bruce pointed out but then nodded, “he’s convinced there needs to be a group orgy or something. He thinks we should start inviting others to join us until we can handle everyone.”

“You’re kidding,” Natasha gave a light smile and shook her head, “That’s Tony for you. I’m sure he’ll drop it soon.”

“Hopefully, I’m trusting this is just his first night ribbing and that it won’t come up again,” Bruce stuck his free hand in his pocket. “How’s your day off going so far?”

“Well this morning was great but then I went to workout for a bit and Steve, well… He’s worried that we’re not playing it safe,” Natasha replied.

“To be honest we’re not considering the dangers as much as we should…” Bruce trailed off looking at the ground.

“Hey, we talked about this. You don’t get to do that now,” she stopped tugging his arm lightly to get him to stop beside her and turning to face him. “Remember? I trust you, you won’t hurt me. We wouldn’t have done that last night if you couldn’t handle it. Besides that’s not what Steve meant. He knows you wouldn’t lose control on me.”

“Then what?” Bruce tilted his head.

“He wanted to make sure we were being _safe,_ ” the look in Bruce’s eyes showed that he understood.

“You’re joking right? He asked you if we were being safe?” Bruce tried not to laugh.

“Yep, I barely escaped his safe sex lecture,” Natasha smiled at Bruce trying to stifle his laughter. “Yeah you laugh it up, next time you can deal with the safe sex lecture from Captain America. You try to tell him that you’re seriously using protection when he uses the word ‘fondued’ around you.”

“Okay I have to admit that’s fairly bad,” Bruce chuckled for a moment longer, “alright then, what do we do to make this day off better?”

“It’s getting better right now,” Natasha smiled. “It’s a nice day, let’s just enjoy ourselves for a bit. I didn’t get any time to actually workout so a walk would be nice about now.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Bruce just gave his usual smile and the two started off down the street.

They passed by an electronic store that was showing off T.V.s in the front window each showing a different program. Bruce paused for a moment to look at one showing a news program. He found himself staring at the face of General Ross. He couldn’t hear anything but it seemed the program was broadcasting a speech from General Ross and by the scrolling text along the bottom it was about him. It switched to show a video of Hulk fighting something though it was completely one sided, only showing the destruction Hulk caused.

Natasha had stopped when Bruce did, frowning at the sight of the T.V. She could feel Bruce tense up at it and that look fear creeping onto his face, the look he got just before he ran. Her own face showed her anger. If looks could kill, Ross wouldn’t be alive to finish his speech. As Bruce continued to tense, ready to bolt, Natasha forced herself out of her own rage fueled thoughts to tighten her grip on Bruce’s hand. Her free hand reached over to touch his shoulder. “Bruce,” She whispered gently to him to snap him out of it.

Bruce became aware of Natasha again and looked at her, his fear and anger vanishing in a brief moment. “S-Sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” Natasha responded, “just come.” She started to pull him away from the store and further down the street. Her mind returned a few times to how much she wanted to deal with General Ross. She’d rarely seen Bruce as afraid as he was when General Ross was involved with something. It had been a few months after Loki’s attack when she had been called into a meeting with Fury; at least that’s what she was told. It had really been the first time she saw Bruce completely terrified.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

She had entered the meeting room to see Fury there but also Bruce and General Ross with some probably like-minded senators who wanted Bruce removed from the team and taken into custody. There were screens on showing the World Security Council were also watching and were going to pass judgement on what was about to happen. Bruce had sunk down in his seat. His hands were white as he gripped the armrests, if it was from fear or anger she didn’t know for sure but she was guessing fear. She could tell he wanted nothing more than to disappear.

“Ah, now we can begin our meeting,” Fury stated, “Agent Romanov, please take a seat. You remember General Ross, right? He and his friends here think we should turn Dr. Banner over to them since he’s too dangerous. They have chosen to allow me to have one Avenger speak on Dr. Banner’s behalf. I selected you as a respected agent of SHIELD and the one who has dealt with every side Dr. Banner has shown.”

Natasha took a seat beside Bruce glancing only at him once before locking eyes with those who would be her opponents in this. It would be easy to take them down, easy to dispatch the nearby guards and get Bruce out of there if they had to run but that wasn’t what Fury called her here to do, she knew that. If he wanted Bruce to run he would have arranged for him to get his head start before a meeting began. She could tell Fury was going to play their game but had several tricks up his sleeve. Of all of the Avengers, he selected her which seemed an unlikely choice.

Tony had dealt with men like these guys before and could easily threaten lawsuits and fight them on a ground they couldn’t touch. Steve was highly respected as a soldier and war hero who could see the good in everyone, having him vouch for Bruce would certainly help. Thor and Clint were the only two that would make less sense given their relation to Loki and not having as much experience with Bruce. The fact she was here could only come to two reasons, one was in fact that she had dealt with Bruce in every sense. She had seen him at his lowest when she went to get him and got him to follow her. She had seen Hulk at his worst and run from him when she was the target of his rage. She had seen Hulk at his best and fought beside him. She had seen Bruce at his best after the fight. The second reason could only be that Fury wanted this played in a very clever way. Wordplay she could do, he wanted her to manipulate them and so she would. He wanted their attention on her and not on Bruce that she could also do.

Fury took a seat on the other side of Bruce and all three found themselves staring down the group on the other side of the table. Natasha was calculating the best moves to make, Fury was trying to stare them down into submission and Bruce fearfully meeting their eye-contact as he continued to slouch and want out. Natasha spared a quick glance from the corner of her eye at the man the look seemed to trigger a memory in the back of her mind.

_You’re going to be okay, listen to me. We’re going to be okay I swear on my life I will get you out of this, you will walk away._

She wanted to shake her head as if that would get the memory out, but stopped herself from doing so. Not wanting to raise any questions from her opponents. She looked at General Ross forcing herself not to glare.

“Shall we begin?” A voice from the council spoke up.

General Ross had gone first, rambling on for a long time about how he believed Bruce Banner was a monster. Bruce’s eyes flashed green a few times with worry and Natasha was quick to notice, probably quicker than anyone else. Grabbing Bruce’s arm she gave him a light shake of her head when he made eye-contact with her. _Trust me._

“The only possible safe method is for containment and control,” General Ross was started to wrap up, “not letting it roam free to do whatever it wants. We’re dealing a monster, a monster that belongs in the hands of the U.S. Military for careful study so we can learn from its strength and fix the weakness.”

“With all due respect General,” Natasha was still forcing herself not to glare as she spoke up, she also didn’t believe that Ross deserved any form of respect. “Containment and control do not work with what you want. You refer to control as a way to point The Hulk, point him in the right direction. That’s not containment. You’re also asking to contain a man without trial which I believe is against your own laws.”

“This is the trial,” Ross argued slamming his fist on the table, “I will not be spoken to about law by some high and mighty agent who thinks she knows it better.”

“This is not a trial of peers,” Natasha stayed calm, or at least as calm as she could. “However if you really want it to go that way then fine. You’ve had your say, let me ask you. How long have you been after Dr. Banner?”

“Since the monster was made I’ve tracked it and done my best to keep people safe,” Ross yelled as he stood up. The idea that they wouldn’t fold and see things his way only fueled his rage.

“Alright, the accident was several years ago. How many times have you been able to contain and control the Hulk?” Natasha waited as Ross didn’t answer though she had to make sure she didn’t smirk when his face started to turn red from anger. “That’s what I thought. See, here’s the thing. Bruce Banner is an Avenger, SHIELD brought him in and we simply asked him to come and work with us. He agreed. In that time he has only lost control once and you know what? Everyone he fought against during that time is still alive.”

“I’m sure you’re just covering it up,” Ross crossed his arms over his chest, “You know nothing of this monster, little girl. You probably haven’t actually seen it and are just reciting what Fury told you to say.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow at that remark, “As I said everyone he went after is still alive. I should know, I was one of the ones he came after and yet here I am. I’m sure we have video surveillance saved of what happened. So General, I faced the so called monster and you know what? I disagree with every word you said. Dr. Banner is not a monster, when the world was in trouble he came back when he could have walked away which last I checked is not something monsters do. After that he could have walked away, just started running instead he chose to stay. Now you’re trying to paint him as the enemy after he stayed despite his chances to just leave?”

“If you were really chased by the Hulk I’m sure there were several others to defend you, I’m sure it was fake or some stupid plan. Even your video is probably a fake,” Ross’ face continued to turn red from anger.

“No General, see I can tell you’re afraid,” Natasha replied leaning forward slightly, “because there’s a difference between the times you fought against the Hulk and when I did. Actually there are several differences with our experience overall. But when Hulk was against me, I didn’t have a tank to hide behind unlike you. I didn’t have an army and yet I’m still willing to stand between you and him for as long as I’m alive. I know what it’s like to have Hulk come after me. I then stood beside him against Loki and know what it’s like to have him as a friend. More importantly I know what Dr. Banner is like. I know he wouldn’t even think of hurting me. I knew him when he was at his lowest and now I know him as a friend. Something you could never say. You barely knew him even when he dated your daughter. Isn’t that right, General? You just saw a way to get what you wanted and that was it. You never saw the man. You have only ever seen a weapon.”

General Ross looked about ready to order Natasha thrown out while Fury just smirked while leaning back in his chair and Bruce watched with astonishment at Natasha standing up for him like this.

“Here’s the thing, I work with weapons. I have used more types of weapons than you can imagine. I was trained to use them. I was trained to be a weapon and I hated that. I hated being nothing more than a weapon and I found a way out of that life. Now I’m choosing to fight on a side I actually like and use the skills I have to protect rather than harm. I am a person first and a very lethal agent second. I have no respect for anyone who uses people as weapons because the simple fact is they’re not. Bruce Banner is not your weapon to use and experiment with. The Hulk is not a monster that needs to be caged by the likes of you. He’s an Avenger and if anyone wants to take him I guarantee you that you’ll have a lot more than me as an enemy,” Natasha stood up, arms crossed over her chest. “I really don’t think you want me to tell the others that you took our good Doctor away from us because you can’t see anything more than something to use and lock away. I very much doubt the others would like that.”

Natasha waited for a moment for someone to say anything. Ross looked about ready to pull out a gun and shoot. When he finally did open his mouth to yell something a council member spoke up. “I believe this is a case that needs more evidence on both sides. As of right now this issue will be tabled and Dr. Banner will remain under the protection of SHIELD and the Avengers.” There was that edge in their tone that seemed to make Natasha think of them warning everyone to not mess this up. That if Bruce lost control, their decision would go to letting Ross take him without a fight at least at their end. The screens shut off after their decision had been made

Ross started to leave with the men he had brought along as he passed Natasha he looked at her, making eye contact without flinching at her glare, “You’ll regret your choice. Everyone will. You’ve put the entire world in danger.”

“You put the world in much more danger with every action you’ve ever taken so I very much doubt I will ever regret my choice today,” Natasha responded simply. “You come after him though and I give you my word it will not end well for you. I know how to make men like you cry and I will not hesitate.”

Ross left and Fury gave a nod of thanks to Natasha. “You’re free to go Dr. Banner. Agent Romanov, please make sure Dr. Banner gets home safely without any interruptions from our new friend General Ross. If you want to take a few minutes to let him leave before you go then go ahead.”

Natasha nodded once as Fury left. She decided it would be best to not let Bruce run into Ross again, plus the man looked like he needed a breather. Bruce slowly let go of the armrest and colour returned to his face as he took a few deep breaths. He looked at Natasha, the fear nearly gone but there was a lingering question in his eyes. He was trying to figure out just how to say it.

Eventually he stood up to look Natasha in the eyes, “Why?” Just one simple word.

“Why what?” Natasha tilted her head just slightly. The glares she had given Ross were long gone as she looked at the man.

“Why did you defend me like that? Why did you threaten Ross? Why just… all of it?” Bruce started to list off. “I just want to know why.”

“Because you would have done the same if the roles were reversed, “Natasha answered.

 

* * *

 

“Can I ask you something?” Bruce looked at Natasha again as they walked.

“Well I haven’t denied you asking me things before,” Natasha met his gaze again for a brief moment before watching where the two were walking.

“Why do you trust Hulk? You say that I won’t ever hurt you and I like to believe you’re right but Hulk is something different,” Bruce started to ramble on, “he and I are two beings in the same body, we’re not the same.”

“But you have some measure of control when it comes to him.”

“I can hold off his rage slightly so he can think,” Bruce responded, “it’s kind of like being lost in a thick mist inside there, only the mist is pure rage. You can kind of make out shapes and voices but nothing is clear. So trusting him not to hurt you, I don’t understand why.”

“I have my reasons.” Of course he wouldn’t understand, he could only remember bits and pieces of what Hulk did at best. She on the other hand could remember.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

It had been the latest super villain team up for the group to stop. The villains had recently taken an island out in the middle of nowhere. They were claiming to have some sort of Dooms Day Device that they were threatening to use if their demands were not met.

The group had been sent in to stop them of course and it had been a trap to say the least. They had quickly all been split up and were each just trying to survive and get to their meeting spot to get off the island. Natasha had been running from cybernetic creatures that had become the most popular new weapon with all of the villains with world conquest on the mind. Tony sometimes swore that there had to be a convention where they got this stuff from other villains from.

Natasha knew what was going on as she made quick turns through the jungle to avoid new creatures jumping out at her. The ground was becoming softer, harder to run on. She was being herded away from the others and towards the beach. The sand would slow her down she just hoped it would also slow the creatures don at least enough for her to come up with an idea to deal with them. She had used a lot of her tricks to get to the main base of the villains before and destroy their device. Now she was out of grenades, low on ammo and to add insult to injury one of her Widow’s Bites had been destroyed which also served to injure her arm. The guy who destroyed that was not going to be happy if Natasha got her hands on him but that was only if she survived this. It turns out that knife fighting and punching cyborgs didn’t tend to work. She could out think them but it seemed each time she found a way to destroy one with a quick turn or jump, another would simply take its place.

The others were busy so she couldn’t rely on them to come right away. Right now she was just hoping that she could hold off the creatures until some sort of back up showed up. Since when was anything that simple though? Natasha was making her away down the beach when one of the creatures jumped and landed on her back forcing her down into the sand. Its claws started to dig into her back, the pain more intense than she had expected.

She heard a laugh coming from the water, tilting her head to see where it came from she saw Hydro-Man. He was starting to work at creating a large tidal wave. Great she’d be shredded by the creature on her back and then drowned by Hydro-Man. This certainly wasn’t how she expected to go. She expected an old enemy or some world destroyer, not this joker and a pack of enhanced creatures.

The claws continued to dig into her and Hydro-Man continued to laugh. She clenched her jaw holding in everything, she wouldn’t yell in pain, she wouldn’t give this guy the satisfaction. She saw the large wave approaching quickly and she closed her eyes in response. This was it.

She could feel some sand lightly blow over her as something large suddenly landed nearby where she was, forcing the sand away from the impact. The creature on top of her growled loudly as the others that had chased her to this pointed started to join it in the growl and move closer. There was a sudden boom as if lightning struck right beside her and the thunder was close enough to leave a ringing in her ears. She thought maybe Thor had shown up given the sound.

The weight from her back was removed which was when she opened her eyes. The wave was gone and Hydro-Man was not happy about it. She watched as Hulk tossed the creature into the water with a primal roar. The other creatures started to leap at Hulk starting to latch onto him. He simply started to grab and toss them around; pulling them off no matter how deep they dug in. One latched onto his back out of his reach as the others went for his arms. Hulk tried for the one on his back a few times but couldn’t get a grip. The ones on his arms started to distract him, getting him to rip them off and toss them away.

Natasha could see Hydro-Man getting ready to make another wave, frustrated that his first had failed. It would be easy for her to run now. No one would blame her or fault her for it. She was injured, low on weapons and was lucky to be alive. Everything inside told her to run for the jungle, to find the others, to find weapons and survive.

Instead she looked at Hulk; he’d survive this he always did. He let a roar of pain as the creature on his back dug into him with its claws. Natasha charged at Hulk when she heard that. Jumping she grabbed onto Hulk and started to climb up. It was like rock climbing if the rocks were alive and under attack. It only took Natasha a few seconds to reach Hulk’s shoulders. She slid down the back slightly until she was under the creature. Grabbing onto Hulk as best she could, she pushed against him with her back and braced her feet on the creature’s chest. The creature seemed to be some sort of lion like creature and was focused on dealing with Hulk. She pushed against the creature with her legs until if let go and fell off of Hulk’s back.

Natasha slid to the ground as Hulk turned to grab the creature, crushing the cybernetics with one hand before tossing it away into the ocean. Natasha turned back to Hydro-Man and the new wave he had created, larger than the first, it was quickly coming at them. She wanted to run but it was unlikely she could outrun the wave. She wasn’t even sure how they’d avoided the first.

Hulk stepped in front of her, arms held out wide. He brought them together in a powerful thunderclap. That explained the sound from before. The sonic force from it pushed back against the water however this time it didn’t work to force it away from them. It lessened the wave but not as much as they needed. Hulk growled but turned his back to the wave and crouched down, his arms protectively wrapped around Natasha. He took the wave with his back as he braced himself against the force. Natasha closed her eyes as the as the wave hit Hulk, bits of the salt water splashing onto her making her slightly flinch as it made contact with the open wounds.

When the wave passed Hulk stood up straight and growled at Hydro-Man. Natasha glared at the man who was more than surprised that the two of them were still there. Natasha looked at her remaining Widow’s Bite. Raising her arm she quickly fired an electric shock at Hydro-Man. “Hulk, smash him,” Natasha looked at Hulk who nodded.

Hydro-Man was stunned by the shock, couldn’t disperse as Hulk jumped at him and landed on him. Hulk started to beat into the guy eventually tossing him onto the beach where Natasha stood over him. Hulk jumped out of the water and landed beside her cracking his knuckles.

“One time offer, give up and Hulk won’t go round two with you,” Natasha crossed her arms over her chest as Hulk hoped that Hydro-Man wouldn’t take Natasha’s offer.

“How do I know he’ll listen to you?” Hydro-Man questioned. “He might just smash me again.”

“You don’t,” Natasha shrugged. She wasn’t sure how much Hulk would listen to her. “But face it, I have a better chance of calling him off than you do.”

Hydro-Man looked between the two before raising his hands above his head, “I surrender.”

“Smart move,” Natasha smirked though the pain in her back was starting to get to her.

“Hulk no smash?” Hulk had his hands balled into fists ready to go.

“Not right now,” Natasha looked up at him with a weak smile. “We need to take him to the others so he can be taken into custody though. Alright?”

Hulk stared at Natasha for a while and she was sure he’d just ignore her but instead he nodded lifting Hydro-Man over his shoulder. Natasha started to walk back towards where the others would meet them when she started to stumble from the blood loss. She would survive this but her body was protesting the movement constantly as she became light headed. She found Hulk’s hand there to catch her when she stumbled again. Rather than asking Hulk’s free arm simply scooped her up and held her to his chest. Despite how ridiculous it felt, she was thankful she didn’t have to walk anymore. If she passed out now she’d still make it home and the cybernetic creatures that remained would think twice before going at her again as long as Hulk was holding her.

“Thanks big guy,” Natasha mumbled.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

Bruce gave a light smile as they continued their walk, they had made their way to a park the path shaded by trees. Now and then Bruce would smile and look up at the sky. “So, be honest, how long did you know that I well…” He trailed off his face quickly becoming red as the blood rushed to it from nerves and embarrassment.

Natasha stifled a slight laugh at the blush forming on Bruce’s face, “How long did I know you were interested? Basically, I’ve known the entire time. I’m good at reading people and you’re not exactly hard when it comes to that. I didn’t make a move because I expected you to do so first and well, I wasn’t too sure when I first noticed. The idea, I admit, frightened me. Then I thought about it some more and I realized I didn’t need to be afraid of it. After all you are Dr. Banner, a good man just trying to do right in the world despite a unique condition and a series of events that would have destroyed a lesser man.”

“When did you realize I wasn’t going to make a move?” Bruce questioned.

“Fairly early on again, I just was waiting for a good time when you settled down into the group more and then the right moment,” Natasha shrugged. She referred to the early days after the Loki attack, really early months more than days when it came to Bruce. Almost once a week he would be gone, sometimes for long stretches of time other times for a day. Each time SHIELD kept an eye on where he was and Natasha volunteered to keep an eye on him, even when Fury said no she still did. She didn’t want to risk letting Bruce fall back into a slump. If he wanted to leave and settle down somewhere again, that was fine but the chance of him just falling into his depression and doing something stupid was rather likely.

Bruce nodded once in understanding, “So, that night was the right time?”

“Well I would assume so since that’s when it all sort of happened,” Natasha shrugged at the rather obvious answer.

Bruce just slightly bit his lower lip and nodded as he looked at the ground.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

Bruce had curled up on the couch in one of the common rooms, unable to sleep. He could have stayed on his own floor but he wasn’t really used to having such a large space that was his. At least here it wasn’t his space, it was Tony’s and the others could use it as they wanted. The current room he was in had a large T.V. and a several couches and chairs. He knew there were some table games like pool around but he paid no mind to them. He sometimes played with dartboard but never when someone was watching. His days of throwing darts to win bets in bars were long behind him; somehow it was something he was good at. A few calculations and he could hit the bulls-eye and win some cash. Now he wouldn’t dare do it in front of the others it just wasn’t him anymore, not unless he had to.

He had been watching an old movie on T.V. a comedy from 1959. He’d been so distracted by the film that he didn’t notice Natasha enter the room.  His body’s tiredness was starting to catch up to him no matter how much his mind wanted to fight it off and the movie had absorbed him slowly making him feel better about his life with old jokes and good acting.

“What’cha watching?” Natasha walked behind the couch resting her arms on the back as she looked at the T.V.

“Some Like It Hot,” Bruce responded then leaned back to look up at Natasha, “What are you doing up?”

“I couldn’t sleep, seems like you can’t either,” Natasha responded looking down at Bruce. “What’s keeping you up?”

“Just my mind hating my guts,” Bruce shrugged, “but it doesn’t hate me as much when I watch old movies.”

“Same,” Natasha nodded once as both looked at the screen again.

“You’re welcomed to join me,” Bruce commented, “plenty of room.”

Natasha walked around the couch, slowly standing in front of it for a moment and looking at Bruce who just smiled at her. She sat down beside him. After that smile, she wasn’t about to say no. “I have nothing better to do.” She really didn’t, so she just sat down beside Bruce.

The two didn’t say anything as the movie played, each understanding the other far better than they expected. Now and then each one laughed lightly at something in the movie but otherwise there was just the sound from the movie.

By the end Natasha found her arm wrapped almost protectively around Bruce’s shoulders, holding him close to her. He had his own wrapped around her waist. His head was resting against her shoulder, his tiredness starting to win out as the end of the movie was nearing.

“Are you going back to your room after this?” Bruce questioned.

“I don’t know,” Natasha admitted. She thought it was likely but she looked at Bruce for a moment, just able to make out his features from the light of the movie. The credits started to roll and Bruce started to pull away. Natasha tightened her grip to stop him. “Come with me.”

“W-What?” Bruce was off guard at the request.

Natasha turned the T.V. off leaving them in darkness for a bit. “Come with me,” Natasha repeated as she started to get up pulling Bruce up with her, he didn’t resist as he got to his feet. At their movement JARVIS turned on dim lights to help them find their way without blinding them. Natasha pulled the half-awake Bruce to the elevator and made her way to her floor.

“Your floor?” Bruce questioned. It was simpler than he thought. He had never been there since Tony made the different floors for everyone and then the common ones. Outside his own floor, the labs and a few of the common floors Bruce didn’t explore. Now and then the others would find him on the couch or floor one of the common floors. Bruce’s floor was designed for him, sturdy in case of the other guy getting out. Well stocked and large kitchen area, bookshelves upon bookshelves to line the walls, a decently sized bedroom with a very large bed and a washroom. It was rarely perfectly clean, notes and books left out as he needed them. Natasha’s was more like a high-end apartment being shown off to a potential buyer. Clean with a few pieces of comfortable looking furniture that complimented the first room nicely. Bruce suspected that there were probably weapons and gadgets hidden everywhere.

“Yeah,” Natasha grabbed Bruce’s wrists gently and pulled him in. Walking backwards, expertly maneuvering her way around the floor heading to the bedroom without taking her eyes off Bruce.

Stepping inside Bruce saw the bed, as large as his was since Tony wasted no expense on sleeping areas. Bruce was confused as he looked at Natasha. “Natasha, w-what?”

“You don’t have to stay if you don’t want to,” Natasha commented dropping Bruce’s wrists and stepping into his space keeping eye contact. “However let’s face it we’ve been going around in circles for a long time. Maybe it’s about time we just said it out loud. I like you Bruce and I can tell you like me too. We both are having problems sleeping because of our past. So this is my invitation to you, you’re welcomed to stay with me tonight and probably for any night when you need someone. Just you and me.”

“Tash,” Bruce breathed out wanting to lean in closer, wanting to just give in. “You know I can’t be like that.” He started to look away considering walking away.

“I’m not asking you to be like _that_ ,” Natasha responded one hand cupping Bruce’s cheek gently making sure he watched her. “I’m asking you stay with me as in beside me. You deny yourself a lot of things, Bruce, don’t let this be one of them. I trust you here and that’s why I invited you.”

Bruce’s eyes went wide when Natasha said it, _I trust you_. A simple three words that made his heart rate climb ever so slightly. He felt a warm sensation that confused him for a moment. He was happy when he heard the words, more so when he heard them from her. She wasn’t saying it for anyone’s benefit. This wasn’t some meeting where she had to stand up for him. The team wasn’t there to say it for them. It was just him and her and she said it. “Tash…”

Natasha closed the space between them, quickly kissing Bruce before he could try to deny himself anything like he normally would. She could feel him considering pulling away as if he wasn’t sure but he relaxed into it. His arms slowly wrapped around her as he started to return the kiss ever so gently. Natasha was the one in charge of this and to Bruce it felt so good.

Natasha had taken Bruce to the bed without breaking their kiss. As she said, the two of them didn’t do more than that. They had fallen asleep beside each other, tangled up together acting as the one thing that each of their minds wouldn’t hate them for.

For two months after that Bruce and Natasha switched which floor they slept on, frequenting each other’s room. Natasha would enter Bruce’s with almost no invite though only when she knew he wouldn’t mind, which he never did, her company was always welcomed. Bruce was much more cautious in going to Natasha’s, generally she would have to lead him there and invite him in. Then one night Bruce had agreed to try something more and it worked.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

“You know I hate it when you look at the ground like that,” Natasha commented breaking Bruce out of his thoughts.

Bruce’s head snapped out and he looked at her with a light smile, “I’m sorry. Force of habit I guess.”

“Some of your habits are rather bad Dr. Banner, I suggest working on breaking them,” Natasha returned the smile as she watched him. She was focused now on making sure he kept looking up.

“If you insist.”

“I do,” Natasha nodded once, “and you do know if I insist on something it’ll happen.”

“Yeah, that I know,” he agreed with a light chuckle, “luckily for me you tend to insist on good things. Like our first night.”

“I tend to have good ideas and insist on them. After all look where we are now,” Natasha replied.

“Doing things that neither of us thought we ever could? Being all, what’s the word? Couple…y?” Bruce raised an eyebrow, “I know it’s not a word but people keep using it anyways.”

“Yeah, it’s certainly something neither of us thought we ever could do. At least not again,” Natasha nodded once in agreement he grip on Bruce’s hand tightened slightly. During the first few weeks it felt weird to be around him like this. To be able to touch him like this, it was just strange. Now he didn’t ever pull away instead he returned each touch ever so lightly, exactly as she expected from him.

“Weapons don’t get to do this type of stuff,” Bruce commented.

“Guess we are human then,” Natasha couldn’t help but smile at that. She considered kissing him for the comment even if it would be just briefly. To have someone else say out loud that she wasn’t a weapon. It wasn’t her voice trying to convince her of it but someone else.

Before she could think of it anymore her phone went off. She held back a growl of frustration as she got it out to see a text.

[Received: Tony]: _Hey we’re all going for dinner. Fifteen minutes. Usual place, see you there._

“Looks like we’ve been called to head to a group dinner,” Natasha commented.

“Well at least we’re going out so they will be less likely to ask,” Bruce pointed out.

“True.” Since when was anything that simple? Since when did Tony have boundaries even in public?

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

They arrived at the so called “usual place” as Tony would define it. It was a small restaurant nothing really fancy, just a casual place that had called itself an ‘All Day Grill’. It was fairly standard for a restaurant, everyone had found something they liked on the menu and it became just a quiet go-to place for the group.

Natasha stepped inside first as Bruce held the door open then followed inside. Something was off. The restaurant was usually busy, not jammed pack busy but still busy. Today it was empty except for the one group in the middle of the room which was of course their group. Thor, Steve, Tony and Clint all gathered around several tables they had pushed together. Tony must have rented the entire restaurant for the group. This could only end badly.

Bruce tensed up at seeing it causing Natasha to grab his hand to keep him relaxed as she glared at the others who just grinned like nothing was wrong or they were hiding something.

The two made their way over to join the group, sitting down at the seats left open for them. No one said anything for a bit.

“We ordered your usual,” Steve commented finally, “I hope that’s okay.”

“Yeah that’s fine,” Natasha nodded completely suspicious she knew better than to trust the grins on the faces of Tony and Clint.

“Good with me,” Bruce nodded.

Oddly enough their meal passed fairly normally, no one made the comments they expected. Rather the usual immature acts to be expected from the group happened as Steve tried to get control. Clint using the wrapper on a straw as a projectile to hit Steve in the face as he and Tony joked loudly about things that started their own little fights. Tony was well into his fifth drink by the time the main meal was over.

“Dessert anyone?” Tony questioned loudly.

Thor was the first to nod in agreement, “Aye! Let the next round begin!”

“I believe we’ve ordered already the perfect dessert given the event we’re celebrating,” Tony called out as stood up waving the servers over.

“Event we’re celebrating?” Bruce questioned looking up at Tony. Natasha glared at Tony. He wouldn’t.

A server, completely terrified of the glare Natasha was giving to Tony, carefully made their way over very slowly holding a cake in their hands. Tony pointed for them to set it down in front of Bruce and Natasha. The server looked horrified by the idea but did so anyways. They were probably praying that Natasha’s glare would remain on Tony.

Both Natasha and Bruce looked at the very large cake unsure if they should laugh or attempt to kill Tony. The cake was pure white other than the Hulk green icing border along the edge and the black writing in the center

**_You had sex! Yay!_ **

**_It’s about time!_ **

**_Congrats!_ **

“Friends! We celebrate your fornication that commenced over last night!” Thor yelled happily patting Bruce’s shoulder hard, “It is indeed about time as you two have been so close.”

“You both sort of sucked at hiding it,” Clint pointed out.

“We weren’t trying to hide it we just weren’t being open about it,” Bruce grumbled softly sinking down in seat embarrassed. He was also trying to figure out which one of them had the bright idea of adding in the ‘Yay!’ He suspected it was Clint, the cake was probably Tony’s idea but that little ‘Yay!’ was Clint without a doubt.

“Okay I’ve dealt with all but Thor today in some way about this and there’s one thing I don’t get. How did you all know? Neither of us exactly ran around yelling about having sex nor did we tell you,” Natasha questioned.

“Well uh…” Tony started off rubbing the back of his neck. “JARVIS is installed as a security feature. He knows what goes on in the rooms. I swear I didn’t see anything but I asked him how everyone was doing last night and he happened to mention…”

“And then Man of Iron was quick to inform the rest of us!” Thor grinned, “So that we could celebrate about your achievement of doing so without anything bad happening!”

“A skill none of us thought possible,” Clint added.

“Tony…” Natasha glared as she stood up both hands on the table. Bruce had covered his face, embarrassed.

“What? I didn’t ask for details,” Tony shrugged, “Besides you get both Bruce and cake out of this deal. I see no reason to be upset.”

Bruce had to jump to his feet to grab Natasha’s shoulder and stop her from leaping across the table at Tony. After a moment the anger died and Natasha looked at the cake again. Silence had crossed the table until Bruce laughed lightly. “They have a point.”

Natasha laughed eventually too, “True enough.”

“Then we celebrate the fornication for friends! Cake for all!” Thor called again.

Steve had the knife to cut the cake, somehow letting Natasha or Bruce do it could end badly for someone and Clint and Tony were lost in their own world of celebrating with Thor, who Steve wouldn’t trust to cut the cake. Somehow if he let Thor cut the cake, Thor would end up with half of the cake on his plate, somehow the rest would have somehow been murdered.

Pieces were handed out and Thor constantly asked for more. Natasha rested a hand on Bruce’s knee when they were both sitting to remind him constantly she was there no matter how nervous he got around the others.

“So really, anything interesting in the bedroom? Kinks? Fun little quirks? Also group sex, still no?” Tony questioned eventually.

Bruce stopped Natasha from launching her plate at Tony. Somehow he was fairly sure she could use cake as a weapon if she really wanted to.

 

 

 

 

* * *

 

The group had gotten back to the tower with no casualties by some miracle. Bruce and Natasha had made their way to her room this time after Natasha made it clear that Tony was to make sure that JARVIS was to be changed. Instead of saying what they were doing in their private rooms he would just say they were busy. Even if they were just sitting on the bed and talking or reading a book, if it was in the bedroom JARVIS was to define it as busy unless they were in need of help. Having sex would never fall under them needing help in any way.

Tony agreed when Natasha pointed out that she knew where he slept.

Natasha pulled Bruce into the bedroom shutting the door behind them. She stood in front of Bruce. “Well, that was an eventful day.”

“I’d go with awkward personally but eventful works too,” Bruce replied wrapping his arms lightly around her.

“So what shall we do now?”

“I can think of a few things,” Bruce smiled in response.

“So can I,” Natasha pressed herself closer to him. “Ready to try that experiment?”

Bruce nodded; he hesitated for a moment before kissing her just as gently as he had before. At first she let him have control but when she could feel him starting to tense and become unsure she took the control from him and felt him relax again.

“Stay calm,” Natasha whispered as they pulled apart for a brief moment, her arms around him.

“Stay safe,” Bruce smiled.

“I already told you several times you won’t hurt me,” Natasha smiled right back at him, “besides I can look after myself.”

“I’ll still tell you to stay safe,” Bruce whispered, “after all you’re human.”

“As are you Doctor,” Natasha started to pull him towards the bed. “Now then, it’s still my day off so we have all night.”

“If you’re sure,” Bruce nodded letting her pull him as he always did. Fact was no matter how nervous he was about this, he rarely had nightmares anymore not when he was beside her and by the look on her face in the morning nightmares had become much rarer for her as well. They rarely found themselves on the common floors in the middle of the night unless it was for nostalgia of that one night.

“I am. After all Doc,” She didn’t let go of him as she pulled him onto the bed and Bruce complied with each movement happily. He didn’t need to have control of himself, not as much as he normally did. As long as she had control he could stay himself. Bruce was on top of her, propping himself up with his hands. Natasha wrapped one arm up around his neck and leaned up to kiss him again for a moment before finishing, “We’ve only just begun.”


End file.
